Configuring the Password Policy

Complete the final step to secure our AWS account.

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The final step#

The last thing we want to do to secure our account is to apply an IAM password policy. There are a couple of interesting things here. For instance, you want to know that the IAM password policy does not apply to the AWS account root user password. Also, you can’t create a lockout policy. What AWS recommends, instead, is that you use multi-factor authentication. We enabled MFA on the root account, but you can enable it on other accounts as well. It’s best practice to do so for any administrative users that have significant privileges.

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Open up the IAM console. To change the policy, you can either choose the "Password Policy" button or the "Account settings" on the left-hand side.

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This is the password policy. We will set our minimum password length to 8, although you can increase it if you want to. You can configure the rest of the options as you wish to.

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If you want to learn a bit more about password policies, you can choose the "Managing Passwords" link. Hit "Apply password policy" and that's it.

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If we go back to the dashboard, we've got a nice view of five tick marks and a five out of five complete for our security status. So that's all good.

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Hit the RUN button below to open up a browser window right here. This will make it easy for you to follow along.

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Readme.txt

Now that you have created your account, feel free to explore all the services that AWS has to offer. We will provide you with an overview of all the services needed to prepare yourself for the CSAA exam. You can go ahead and test them on AWS yourself for additional practice and understanding.

Creating an IAM User and a Group

AWS Global Infrastructure Overview